Wanted Advice On A Marine Set Up

[shelaghfishface]

hia
my other 2 tanks ( 4ft & 2ft) are doing great( just over a month old now) havent lost anything, have been doing all my tests and water changes etc, its going really well, thanks to all the great advice i have recieved on this site.
so what i want now is to set up a marine tank, so i need to know what the basics are ie: from what the gravle should be to, co2 diff,skimmer, filter,
the tank is 88 litres, and its just sitting filled in my lounge with the filter going, i was going to use it for tropical, but i would reallly love to start a marine,i cant really find an easy to understand website that offers the basic advice with pics,i dont know even the basics,have looked at tonnes of pictures but with no words thats useless
so what im looking for is advice on equipment to buy,( only have heater.filter, light (strip)and of course tank and stand
what is the salt called. what temp should it be, how long should it be left empty, do i need to cycle like with trop, what stones if any are nessecerry,( live,coral) what plants, is the lighting a special type, will i need a more powerful filter
i really do need the absolute basics,
i understand that at the moment there is an issue with keeping marine fish, moral and govermental, due to coral damage in the sea etc,( red on another website)
but i would like to reassure anyone offering advice, im not rushing out to buy " nemo" just cos i saw the movie! infact i wont be buying any fish at all for this set up, untill i know exactly what im doing,
i thouroghly enjoy my hobby,and all my fish are happy and well cared for to the best of my ability, and within a few years i would hope to be giving advice more often than asking for it.
pictures of what i have been doing so far are availible on www.freewebs.com/shelaghrashid
the empty tank on there is now thriving, but i havent updated the pics, and the large tank is more beautiful than i could have ever imagined, the new tank is not on there at the moment but i will add it soon
CANT WAIT FOR YOUR ADVICE TO START ROLLING IN, MANY THANKS IN ADVANCE ( all advice will be warmley welcomed)

 

[rdd1952]

Hi shelaghfishface,

I moved your thread into the Marine section so you will get more responses. A lot of us in the FW forums (me included) are clueless on marine set-ups. That is my next big project..

rdd1952

 

[andywg]

Try reading the FAQs and pinned articles in the marine section. Once you have done that, ask any more specific questions in the marine section.

 

[shelaghfishface]

ooops ...thankyou xx and good luck

 

[SkiFletch]

Agreed. Also consider that marine hardware is tailored to the requirements of the critters kept. A marine tank can be as simple as a freshwater tank with salt in it, or it can be a high-tech spaceship and everything in between . I'd reccomend having a look see through some major retailers like liveaquaria.com and saltwaterfish.com to get an idea of the livestock you're going to want first before diving into equipment

And to the marine side of life

 

[shelaghfishface]

many thanks skifletch, i will look at those.
and thanks for the tip on choosing fish first then equip, cos honestly i thought it was the other way round,
thanks again
shelagh xx

 

[SkiFletch]

and thanks for the tip on choosing fish first then equip, cos honestly i thought it was the other way round,

Hehe, glad I could help and don't worry, everybody seems to make that mistake. The sheer number of pissible livestock creates way more compatibility and requirement issues that most people coming from freshwater just aren't familiar with. It's a different way of thinking but you'll be a much happier aquarist if you do things that way